Reading Notes: Jataka Tales Part A

The first story in the Jataka Tales was about a cunning monkey and a stupid crocodile. The crocodile several times had tried to get the monkey in his presence in order to kill, but the monkey out smarted him both times. 

The story of the the Turtle Saved His Own Life was almost along the same lines - just shorter to the point. The turtle in a way outsmarts the humans "dreading" to be thrown in the water, but little do they know the water is the turtles home.

The Merchant of Seri in my opinion is about greed and ultimately the wrongdoings of deception. The first merchant had lied about the gold bowl trying to get even more from the old lady. The second merchant had told the truth and originally refused. The second merchant ends up being the one with the better life to live.

The story of the talking turtle was one with the moral being sometimes it's best to just keep your mouth shut.

The story of the Strong Ox teaches one to be kind to all, even in times of stress or competition. The owner learns this in the first bet with the Ox, and ends up winning his bet back in the end.

Simply don't give up is the moral of the story in The Sandy Road. The men along the journey never did and kept pushing, even after silly mistakes made by the pilot.

The Quarrel of the Quails teaches us power in numbers or even group polarization. If a large group is on the same side in either direction, many things can be accomplished.

The Measure of Rice teaches not to be greedy #1, and #2 about how precious knowledge can be.

The Foolish Timid Rabbit is similar to that of the Quails, but it's more about foolishness. Because one rabbit told another that the Earth was breaking up, a large crowd joined out of fear and foolishness.

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit. Flickr

Bibliography:

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt